Envelope and the like



Patented Nov. 30, 1943 UNI TED STATES PATENT O F F I CE ENVELOPE AND THE LIKE Maurice Alland, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 1, 1940,,Serial No. 343,447

1 Claim.

Envelopes and the 'like now in common use ,lack'the conveniences and sanitation features of this invention; reference is made in particularto the means for opening envelopes and for sealing them. This invention provides means incorporated with the envelope to allow it to be easily opened and thecontents thereof removed simultaneously in ;a single operation. The invention .also provides means for latching the envelope in a closed condition or/and sealing it to prevent unauthorized inspection of its contents.

An object of this invention is the provision of envelopes and the like that can beeasily closed and sealed by the sender; easily opened and when received by the addressee, it can be easily opened and its contents removed in a single operation.

Another object is to provide an envelope having new and simple sealing and opening features incorporated therein which do not materially add to its cost of manufacture or require special unobvious instructions as to its use.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows the front side of the invention in elevational view.

Fig. 2 shows the rear side in elevational View.

Fig. 3 shows the front side in a partially opened condition.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing a detail thereof taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view as shown in Fig. 4 with an element thereof squashed.

Fig. 6 shows a front elevational view of a modifled form of the invention.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section thereof taken substantially along line !I of Fig. 6.

The reference character I indicates the address face of a letter size paper envelope and the numerals 2, 3 and 4, the usual side and bottom flaps at the rear of the envelope, their overlapping edges 5 and 6 being glued together. The top flap, closing flap, 7, has a configuration similar to the common flap now generally used, and has lower incline-d edges 8 and 9 which form the familiar pointed area It]. The edge 9, however, unlike edge 8, bends to form an edge I l to create an area l2. This area l2 extends out beyond the body of the envelope to form the tab 13. This tab is folded over a part of the area l2 and held thereto by a little touch of paste or mucilage indicated by the dotted area I 4. By lifting the edge I 5 of the tab, it can be easily separated from the area l2 and extended out straight as shown in Fig. 3.

Instead of the pull tab being located at the upperright corner of the envelope, as viewed in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the tab may be located lower and made an integral part of the flapl. Such a flap is indicated at 4'. By'locating the flap at 4', the top flap 1 when tightly sealed, especially when sealed along its entire length following the edges 8 and 9, holds the tab 4' flat against the back of the envelope and prevents the tab from interfering with other mail. The tabd may be located most anywheres along the edge 6, but in practice, it has been found more satisfactory to place the tab where shown in Fig.2.

Since the tab ,4 is an integral part of the envelope, the entire assembly can be die-cut in a single operation. For the sake of economy, the

tab 4is preferable to the tab l3 in that there would be less paper waste in manufacture and also a saving of at least one machine operation. Obviously, whether tab 4 or I3 is used, the tab and the scored lines I 6 and I1 must be near opposite ends of the envelope.

Spaced a short distance from the edge I of the envelope and parallel therein, is a deeply scored line It on the front face of the envelope and a similar deeply scored line II on the rear thereof, thus presenting a large section l8 and a small section IQ for the envelope. The scoring must be deep enough and close enough so that the section 19 can be readily removed from the section l8 by a slight pull of them in opposite directions. Instead of merely deeply scoring the paper along the lines l6 and I1, lines of closely spaced perforations can be substituted and would likely be preferable. The perforations should be spaced like those on Government postage stamps so as to assure reasonably easy separation of envelope sections l8 and I9.

A letter 20 is shown in the envelope; in Fig. 1, the letter is shown in dotted lines and as extending substantially from edge to edge of the envelope. In Fig. 3, the envelope is shown partially opened, the enclosed letter being moved from the envelope because the fingers of the opener squeeze the section E!) but not the section N3; the fingers of the other hand grasped the tab l3. By this construction, enclosed letters can be easily removed from the envelope at the same time it is opened.

This invention also includes means for holding the flap 1 closed or/and sealed. The means consist of a stiff wafer 2! having attached thereto at its center a stud with a ball top 22, the top being joined rigidly with the wafer by a cylindrical neck portion 23. Holes, about the size of the ball top are provided in the flaps 4 and 1 in alinement with the stud. The top surface 2| of the wafer is cemented to the under side of the envelope flap 4 or held in position by a fabric, not shown, which can be cemented to the under side of flap 4 and the under side 2|" of the wafer.

Over the flap 1 of the envelope is a wafer 24 having its under side 24' cemented to the flap; this wafer has a central hole in alinement with the stud 22, but the hole in this wafer has a diameter about the diameter of the studs neck 23. By this construction, the head or top of the stud 22 must be forced through the hole of wafer 24 with a little pressure, and likewise, a little pull is necessary to remove the wafer from the neck 23 of the stud. The wafer 24 is made of material that can stand rough usage, such as compositions containing cellulose.

The stud 22 is preferably soft metal or some composition material so that its ball top can be squashed 01' readily pressed to a flat form with an ordinary pair of pinchers, such as gas pliers. Fig. shows the head of the stud squashed and thus functioning as a sealing means for the flap 1 of the envelope. This means and method of sealing, dispenses with the old style and unsanitary method of wetting a mucilage strip under the flap 1 with the tongue.

Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing illustrate a modified form of the invention. In this form, the reference character 25 indicates the front of a letter type envelope constructed in the general manner as the envelope shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but without the tab 13. The back of the envelope is indicated at 26 and the enclosed letter at 21. The front and back of the envelope is deeply scored or perforated along the dotted line 28, thus dividing this envelope into a large section 29 and a small section 30.

The inner surfaces of the section 29 and back 23 are glued together at 3| along the dotted line 32. The purpose of this glued line is to prevent the enclosed letter from entering the space 33 which must be clear of the enclosed letter. In this form of the invention, the envelope is opened and the enclosed letter simultaneously removed in the same manner as explained for the preferred form of the invention with the exception that the fingers of one hand holds the area legioned Pull instead of a tab. In this form, the envelope would be made larger so that the letter can be folded in the accustomed manner for entering a standard size envelope.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

In an envelope having an address face, a bottom flap, opposing side flaps, and a top flap, the bottom and side flaps having their adjacent margins, when folded, cemented together to form a pocket for letters, the top flap, when cemented over the other-flaps, extending a fractional distance over the bottom flap, one of the edges of the bottom flap having an integral tab extending therefrom but within the confines of the envelope and intermediate the ends of the said edge, and a line of perforations through all the flaps and face of the envelope toward the opposite end of the envelope away from said tab so that the envelope can be opened and the contents removed when the tab is pulled in a direction opposite to the end of the envelope nearest the line of perforations.

MAURICE ALLAND. 

